Miami Redhawks

Miami University head hockey coach Chris Bergeron made his first staffing hire by bringing in Barry Schutte as associate head coach prior to the 2019-20 season. Schutte stayed with Bergeron after spending nine years on staff with him at Bowling Green, and enters his fifth year in his current role in Oxford.

The RedHawks went 8-24-4 in 2022-23 with a lineup that featured as many as nine freshmen, all of whom will return this winter. In all, Miami will welcome back nine of its top 12 scorers from a year ago, when the RedHawks received votes in the national polls for the first time since December 2019. Last season, the Red and White earned key wins against eventual Frozen Faceoff champion St. Cloud State at home and on the road at North Dakota, as well as securing the 750th victory in program history. 22 RedHawks qualified for NCHC All-Academic honors, with half of those also claiming Distinguished Scholar-Athlete status. Miami’s Ryan Savage received CSC Academic All-District recognition, while captain Jack Clement was a finalist for the NCHC’s Sportsmanship Award.

Miami’s 2021-22 team played half of its 36 games against opponents ranked in the top 10 in the country and was tied or ahead at some point in the third period in a total of 20 games, finishing the year with a 7-27-2 record. Freshman forward Red Savage was named NCHC Rookie of the Week a league-high four times, while team captain Derek Daschke was a finalist for the conference’s Senior Scholar-Athlete Award.
 
In all, 23 student-athletes on the 2021-22 Miami Hockey roster were named to the NCHC’s Academic All-Conference team, with nine of those players earning Distinguished Scholar-Athlete status from the conference. The RedHawks also produced three AHCA All-American Scholars in 2021-22.
 
In 2020-21, Miami went 5-18-2 with the entire season being played against conference opponents. Persson had an impressive debut season that year, leading all NCHC goalies with a .930 regular-season save percentage. The Miami freshman goaltender earned conference All-Rookie honors, was named to the All-NCHC second team, and picked up Miami’s first Three Stars Award from the NCHC.

Despite the loss of offensive weapons such as Josh Melnick and Grant Hutton, Schutte helped the RedHawks post a tremendous improvement offensively in his first season back in Oxford. Miami made a 20-spot national improvement from 52nd to 32nd in scoring offense (2.29 goals per game to 2.71 goals per game). That jump forward was aided by an even bigger improvement on the power play as the RedHawks went from 45th in 2018-19 to 10th during the 2019-20 campaign. 

Individually, three Miami skaters recorded 31 or more points after no one cleared 26 points the prior year. That included the formation of a dynamic top line in Gordie Green (36 points), Karch Bachman (31 points) and Casey Gilling (31 points), who posted just 25, 16 and 12 points respectively the season before.

In his nine seasons at Bowling Green, Schutte helped guide the Falcons to a collective record of 171-154-44. BGSU posted winning seasons in his last six seasons and won 20+ games in his last five on staff, which culminated in a 25-win campaign in 2018-19 that saw Bowling Green make its first NCAA Tournament since 1990.

During the 2018-19 season, Schutte helped the Falcons finish seventh nationally in scoring offense (3.24 goals per game), their highest ranking in the millennium. A committee approach to scoring ended up paying dividends during the 2014-15 season, as the BGSU offense ranked 15th nationally due to the balance and depth developed by Schutte. The scoring depth also showed in 2016-17 as Falcon skaters recorded four of the WCHA’s nine hat tricks during that season while five BGSU players posted at least 30 points that year.

Schutte joined BGSU as an assistant coach in May 2010, bringing a wealth of hockey knowledge from a player, coach and administrative standpoint. While at Miami, Schutte served as Director of Goggin Ice Center, and was responsible for the oversight of the facility. Schutte’s time at Goggin Ice Center spanned nine seasons, starting from 1999-2003, with a second stint coming from 2005-2010. Schutte, whose leadership made Goggin one of the best facilities in collegiate hockey, also served as the Senior Director of Recreational Auxiliaries for the university in 2007.

Beginning in 1999, he spent the next four years working at Miami in various capacities, including physical education instructor and head coach of the Miami University club hockey program. As head coach, Schutte guided the team to their first ever National Championship in the 1999-2000 season.

After leading the club team for two seasons, Schutte eventually took the role of volunteer assistant coach for the varsity hockey team from 2001-2003.

In 2003, Schutte left Miami for the first time in his professional career, serving as the associate head coach and general manager for the Chicago Steel of the United States Hockey League. While in Chicago, Schutte earned 60 victories from 2003-05.

Schutte returned to Oxford in 2005, resuming the role of Director of Goggin Ice Arena.  After his return to Miami, the RedHawks compiled a 135-52-21 overall record, five consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, two regular-season CCHA championships and advanced to the NCAA Frozen Four each of the last two seasons.

The Thunder Bay, Ontario native played four seasons at Miami, helping the Red & White qualify for their second ever NCAA Tournament as a senior during the 1996-97 campaign. He tallied 58 points on 25 goals and 33 assists over 131 games. He received his bachelor’s degree in physical education from Miami in 1997. He and his wife, Carey, have three children -- Hallie, Brady, and Colin.